Jeremy Naughton, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was convicted of sex trafficking, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, transporting individuals to engage in prostitution and a firearms violation.

U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said from January 2009 to the fall of 2010, Naughton and his friend, Charles Anderson, would target female prostitutes who didn’t have a pimp and force them to work for them.

Naughton and Anderson would assault the victims, take all of their personal items and threaten them with guns. Rosenstein said they would control the women through physical assaults, sex assaults, humiliation, confinement and threats. In one case, officials said Naughton intimidated a woman in June 2010 by snapping the neck of her dog with his hands.

Officials said Naughton transported the women between Maryland, New York and other states to engage in prostitution.

Naughton could get up to life in prison when he's sentenced on Aug. 15.

Anderson, 26, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He told police that the victims would stay in Naughton's Brooklyn room, where he would often assault them. Anderson will be sentenced June 14.